Funding Daily: An Indian mafia don, his daughter, and some funding news

I struggled with inspiration for today’s theme, and did what any reasonable person stricken with writer’s block does. I went to Wikipedia. Apparently, 10:10 is a Bengali comedy film set in Calcutta. The main character is a social-climbing, aging mafia don whose daughter is in love with a struggling actor. The don plans to kill the suitor, until woken up at 10:10 am by a dream that deters him. That, my friends, is a plot. And now for some funding news.

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IO pulls in $90M to bring sustainable data centers to a global market

Chicago-based firm New World Ventures made its largest-ever investment in a startup today. The 15-year-old firm has poured $50 million into IO, a provider of data center services. IO initially asked for $75 million for this pre-IPO round, but had to take it up to a higher amount ($90 million) to satisfy internal investors. The Phoenix Arizona company will use the funds to extend its salesforce in Asia and Europe and to expand its research and development program. Read more on VentureBeat.  

In the face of strife, SideCar cruises on with investors riding shotgun

Ridesharing company SideCar has announced raising $10 million in funding. SideCar offers an alternative to taxis with its peer-to-peer network, where private drivers can connect with passengers using a mobile app. The investment came from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Google Ventures, and was announced just two days after news broke that the California Public Utilities Commission issued Cease & Desist orders to SideCar stating that it businesses violate state laws. Read more on VentureBeat. 

StyleCaster acquires Daily Makeover, raises $2M in fresh funding

New York fashion and beauty media company StyleCaster has acquired Daily Makeover. StyleCaster manages several web destinations and will now add Daily Makeoever to its stable of sites and license out its technology to generate more revenue. Daily Makeover’s tech allows people to try out cosmetic makeovers virtually.While the exact terms of the StyleCaster-Daily Makeover deal weren’t revealed, StyleCaster did raise $2 million in new funding led by Bo Peabody, partner at Greycroft Partners. Read more on VentureBeat. 

Trinity Ventures using $325M warchest for SaaS and e-commerce startups

Trinity Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture firm that has been around for 25 years. The new fund was highly oversubscribed but capped at $325 million to allow for a higher partner-to-fund ratio.The firm specializes in early-stage startups in the digital media and e-commerce, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and cloud services. In their more recent funds, the most promising investments include BeachMint, Care.com, Kixeye, Maxpoint, New Relic, RadiumOne, ServiceMax, and TubeMogul. Read more on VentureBeat.

How bonding with Bieber will make the world a better place

Charitybuzz.com  has raised $3 million in its second round of angel funding. The company holds online charity auctions to make money for non-profits, and for itself. Many celebrities are willing to sell their possessions and time for causes they believe in, and Charitybuzz provides a platform that brings them together with charitable organizations to do this. This brings its total funding to $5 million. Read more on VentureBeat. 

Longitude Capital pools money for drugs

Longitude Capital amassed $385 million to invest in drug development and health technology for its second fund, Longitude Venture Partners II. This firm’s first fund closed in July 2008 with $325 million. The portfolio contains mostly midstage to commercial-stage companies, including Amarin, Aptus Endosystems, AqueSys, CardioDx, Civitas Therapeutics, Corcept Therapeutics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and NxStage Medical. Read more on VentureBeat.

Silvercar revs up its airport rental service with $11.5M

The brainchild of one of Zipcar’s founders Silvercar has raised a first round of funding to in its attempt to “disrupt” the dismal airport car rental experience. Users are able to reserve a car through the app or the website. They use your smartphone to scan the Silvercar to unlock it, and previously loaded preferences – such as itinerary destinations – automatically load in the multimedia dashboard.  Investors in the first-round include Austin Ventures, Michael Arrington’s CrunchFund, Ron Conway’s SV Angel Fund, as well as eBay’s Chris Dixon and Path’s Dave Morin. Read more on VentureBeat.

Oyster attempts to crack shell of e-book sharing

Oyster took a shot of $3 million, led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund today. The startup based in New York City bills itself as a Spotify of books. It is creating a mobile app where users take out a monthly subscription and get access to a full library of books that can be read on their mobile devices. Read the company’s blog post.